Thomas f



(No Model.)

" TLF. SEERY.

STO'WAGE 0F GRAIN. No. 288,500. Patented Nov. 13,1883.

N. PETERS, mwum n m 'wm-in mn, ac

llivirnn STATES PATENT @FriCE THoMAs F. sEEnY, or MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, Ass eivon on ONE- THIRDTO HERMANN srunnnnnonnn, or SAME PLACE. A

STOWAGE OF GRAIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 288,500, dated November 13, 1883.

Application filed April 3, use. (No model.) Y

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THoMAs FRANoIs SEERY, of the city of Montreal, in the District of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Stowage of Grain; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention is for the purpose of bringing to a level and even surface grain fed from an elevator into the holds of ships, barges, &c., or into any stationary receptacle. The only means by which this has been effected up to the present time is by shoveling by hand. From the la-,

borious nature of this work it is at all times difficult to procure shovelers, and high wages must be paid, thus adding greatly to the cost of loading the vessel and often delaying dispatch. Besides this, even with a full gang of men, the grain cannot be trimmed as fast as it is fed in by the spout of the elevator, and this latter must therefore be stopped during the operation of loading. To do away with these inconveniences and to substitute for the tedious operation of handshoveling a system which shall altogether dispense with manual labor and efficiently trim the grain as fast as it can be fed in by the elevator is the object of my invention, which may be described, broadly, in the delivery of the grain into the ships hold or other receptacle by means of a blast of air meeting the grain at an angle to its downward course.

For fuller description of the apparatus which I propose to use in carrying this process into effect, reference must be had to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus; Fig. 2, a sectional elevation, and Fig. 3 a detail.

Similar letters of reference parts.

A is a hopper, made of sheet-iron or other suitablematerial, having its lower part usually divided, as shown. This hopper is of any deindicate like sired size, and is carried in suitable framing,

as shown at A, which may be varied to suit different places.

B B are pipes leading downward from the bottom of each division of the hopper, these pipes being of such section as will pass freely a greater amount of grain than can be fed through the elevator-spout, and also of any length desired.

, (l G are pipes corresponding to B B, sliding up and down same, and provided with any.

suitable means of securing them in position,

so as to give by the combined pipes the length desired. In the lower ends of these pipes C G are formed bearings for the, circular ends of the pipes D D, which are so constructed as to turn freely therein, and of some such shape as that shown in the drawings, terminating, preferably at their lower ends, in caps D, into.

position of the pipes D and E it will always give a sectional area to correspond with that of the bottom of the pipe D.

The pipes E are of any desired length, one end being screwed for the attachment thereto of hose F, connected with any suitable airblowing apparatus, by which a blast is forced through them. This blast is prevented from being diverted upward into the pipe I) by shields or blocks 0, so arranged in the cap E as to give the full area of discharge required.

The operation of my invention will be so clearly understood from the foregoing and the drawings that is only necessary to saythat the hopper A is usually placed with its framing resting on the combings of the hatch in either of the decks above the hold, the pipes C and D being of such length that the pipe E can be placed in the compartment to be filled at the height desired. The elevator'spout is then turned into the hopper and the grain passes therefrom down through the pipes from both divisions on both sides of the central shifting board, the hopper being so set that the diaphragm coincides in place therewith. As the grain descends, a blast of the requisite power is forced through the pipe E from any suitable blowing apparatus, which may be placed at any desired point on the ship or wharf, and

worked by either of the auxiliary engines on the ship, or adonkey-engine. Thisblast meeting the grain in its downward course forces it through the nozzle of the pipe E with sufficient forceto deliver it at the extreme end of the compartment, and as the pipe may be canted up or down the grain may be thrown to a height as the compartment or bin becomes full. To fill the part immediately under the hopper itself, the grain may be either carried through the pipes B, the pipes Gand D being temporarily removed, or through chutes G, arranged, as shown, at the sides of thehopper, suitable slides being provided for closing or regulating the size of the openings of the several pipes or chutes, and specially, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 8, in thepipe D. WVhen the apparatus is, as shown in the drawings, mounted on either of the decks above the hold, the operation of bagging may be carried on while the bulk-stowage is being performed, the grain passing through the side chutes, H H, into the bags. Should the compartment be of extra length, (as in the afterhold of aship,) the apparatus, which should then be mounted on legs, is placed in the center, and the operation can be carried on as before described, the

discharge or blast pipes E being turned in,

of such a greater proportion than the pipe Eas to insure a superinculnbent weight of grain.

Although specially adapted for the loadingto state that what I claim is as follows:

An apparatus for stowing and trimming grain, placed at any point intermediate between the elevator discharge-spout and the point at which the grain is to be delivered, composed of a hopper into which the grain is fed, discharge-pipes through which it gravitates, and nozzles through which a blast is forced at an angle to the course of the grain,

said discharge-pipes and nozzles being so constructed as to throw the grain at any angle to the floor and longitudinal axis of the compartment, all as herein set forth.

Montreal, March 28, A. D. 1883.

his THOMAS FRANCIS SEERY.

XHHIK. Witnesses:

FRAS. HY. REYNOLDS, OWEN N. Evans. 

